Events

The American Film Showcase Comes to Erbil and Dohuk

January 10-14, 2013

A female student studying to be a director shares her “3-minute script” as Roland captures it on film

The U.S. Consulate General Erbil
hosted two well-known American film directors from January 10 to 14, 2013. Marilyn Agrelo and Roland Legiardi-Laura
visited Iraq to show their documentary films and meet with established and
aspiring Iraqi filmmakers as part of the U.S. Department of State’s American
Film Showcase program.

While in
the Iraqi Kurdish Region, they ran workshops with local arts organizations and
students from the Institute of Fine Arts and University of Kurdistan-Hawler
(UK-H) and held a discussion with representatives of the Kurdish Regional
Government’s Ministry of Culture. The American filmmakers also traveled
to Dahuk, where they discussed film projects with the General Directorate of
Culture, Arts, Youth and Sports. A talented poet, Legiardi-Laura, also
conducted a workshop on poetry with students from Salahaddin University.

Contributing
to the rebuilding of Iraq’s film industry is an important part of the U.S.-Iraq
Strategic Framework Agreement, which calls for cultural cooperation between the
United States and Iraq. The American Film Showcase, a partnership between
the U.S. Department of State and the University of Southern California’s School
of Cinematic Arts, aims to use film to promote tolerance and mutual
understanding throughout the world.

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